Henricus Kannegieter

(14 March 1898 - 16 October 1991, The Netherlands)

Henricus Kannegieter was a Dutch illustrator, architectural draftsman and one of the most productive artists of Dutch newspaper comics in the 1930s. He was born in Amsterdam, where he went to school and studied architecture from 1917 to 1919, during which period he also learned painting. After his education he became a technical graphic artist and an architect, working with the nephew of the famous architect Pierre Cuypers, who became a personal friend and mentor to Kannegieter. A lot of his architectural work was destroyed in the bombing of Rotterdam during the second World War.

Klaas, zoon van den molenaar

He eventually began his own architecture firm, and additionally did designs for sets of glasses, including for the Olympiade 1928. During the 1930s and early 1940s he produced over 25 newspaper comics, that were published in regional and local newspapers like Gooi en Eemlander, Utrechts Nieuwsblad, Amersfoortse Courant and Leidsch Dagblad. Weekly magazines like Zonneland and Zonneschijn also published his work.

He also made comics based on historical characters, such as 'Columbus, de Ontdekker van Amerika' (1936) and 'Van krantenjongen tot uitvinder - Thomas Alva Edison' (1936). Some comics that appeared in the papers were unsigned, but are possibly also by Kannegieter, such as 'De avonturen van Profje en Struisje' (1935/36), 'Ab's Avonturen' (1937), 'Gulliver's Reizen' (1937/38) and 'De ongeluksvogel' (1938/39). Some of his comics were also published in the Dutch Indies and South Africa.

After World War II, he focused on his work as a technical draftsman and became employed with the Holland America Line. He retired in 1965, and subsequently picked up painting and traveling. He also continued to draw, including for some advertising booklets in South Africa. He passed away in Hoorn in 1991 at the age of 93.